2017 NBA Draft (Early Looks)

[CelticGuardian]

I like Jonathan Isaac for us, we need length like that on this team and he has a smooth shot, could be the big we need. ....

I do too. He looked good early on, but missed a couple of games with a hip flexor, and has looked pretty non-existent in the two games back since.

Looking forward to seeing how he does in conference play.

Same here, he just gets so many steals with that length, he really knows how to use it. Wished he passed the ball more tho.

[clevelandceltic]

When you say you watched a bunch of them play do you mean you have seen most of them play or seen the top players play multiple times? Please clarify.

I think Jackson and Tatum could play on this team right now.

I've watched a bunch of the top HS players, and the only one I'm really interested in is Harry Giles, who has effectively done nothing through 2 games at Duke. He has injury concerns.

Barring anything crazy happening in the tourney, I want the Celtics to trade the pick for an established player. I don't see any of these 19 yr old guys coming in and contributing right away.

[tankcity!]

Not huge on Isaac's. He doesn't seem to be great at anything particular. I love Tatum and think he has big upside. I'm a little worried he may turn into Tobias Harris so I would need to watch him more.

I'm not a fan of Josh Jackson at all. He has great intangibles and I love that he talks trash. Maybe he can get good because of his work ethic. However, he reminds me of Corey Brewer as of now.

Fultz is the best player in this draft. He looks NBA ready in regards to his offense and he has a nice frame already.

I'm not huge on Smith because he has a short wingspan. Kind of reminds me of Steve Francis. Not a huge fan of him.

If we end of with the 5th pick, it may be worth taking a gamble on Harry Giles because he is the most talented player in this draft.

[green_bballers13]

When you say you watched a bunch of them play do you mean you have seen most of them play or seen the top players play multiple times? Please clarify.

I think Jackson and Tatum could play on this team right now.

I've watched a bunch of the top HS players, and the only one I'm really interested in is Harry Giles, who has effectively done nothing through 2 games at Duke. He has injury concerns.

Barring anything crazy happening in the tourney, I want the Celtics to trade the pick for an established player. I don't see any of these 19 yr old guys coming in and contributing right away.

I've watched Fultz, Ball, Tatum, Monk, Fox, Jackson in live games on TV. Probably not multiple games. I've seen highlights of them plus the other guys mentioned on draft sites.

I don't see a big man coming in right away and contributing, like KAT or Davis. I see a bunch of good guards/forwards, but nothing earth-shattering/crazy. Fultz, Ball, J Jackson, Monk, and Tatum look good. I could see Danny being interested in all of them.

When you watch these guys, do you see instant All Stars? I see guys that might be All Stars in 2021 or later.

[Tr1boy]

When you say you watched a bunch of them play do you mean you have seen most of them play or seen the top players play multiple times? Please clarify.

I think Jackson and Tatum could play on this team right now.

I've watched a bunch of the top HS players, and the only one I'm really interested in is Harry Giles, who has effectively done nothing through 2 games at Duke. He has injury concerns.

Barring anything crazy happening in the tourney, I want the Celtics to trade the pick for an established player. I don't see any of these 19 yr old guys coming in and contributing right away.

I've watched Fultz, Ball, Tatum, Monk, Fox, Jackson in live games on TV. Probably not multiple games. I've seen highlights of them plus the other guys mentioned on draft sites.

I don't see a big man coming in right away and contributing, like KAT or Davis. I see a bunch of good guards/forwards, but nothing earth-shattering/crazy. Fultz, Ball, J Jackson, Monk, and Tatum look good. I could see Danny being interested in all of them.

When you watch these guys, do you see instant All Stars? I see guys that might be in All Stars in 2021 or later.

What about Robert Williams?

[green_bballers13]

Just had to look up Williams. He looks long and athletic. I'm interested.

[clevelandceltic]

Thanks for clarifying. I was curious because I was trying to get a frame of reference for your eval. While I have seen some of these guys play multiple times (Fultz, Jackson) and have seen some for 3 years now (Tatum, Fultz) none has umped out at me as a immediate all star level player.

I think they are more down the road all stars some will take longer than others. With that said please dont short change Fultz. This kids game has really jumped the last 3 years. I remember him being a good player his junior year at DeMatha but certainly not what he is right now. He is well beyond that at this point.

While we all would love an immediate all star, I dont think even if you put KAT on this team as it is right now would make this team a title contender.

This team is missing 2 things a young 2way big that can rebound in traffic and a go to wing scorer with height. They have Brown who maybe that but they dont have the other element. 

When you say you watched a bunch of them play do you mean you have seen most of them play or seen the top players play multiple times? Please clarify.

I think Jackson and Tatum could play on this team right now.

I've watched a bunch of the top HS players, and the only one I'm really interested in is Harry Giles, who has effectively done nothing through 2 games at Duke. He has injury concerns.

Barring anything crazy happening in the tourney, I want the Celtics to trade the pick for an established player. I don't see any of these 19 yr old guys coming in and contributing right away.

I've watched Fultz, Ball, Tatum, Monk, Fox, Jackson in live games on TV. Probably not multiple games. I've seen highlights of them plus the other guys mentioned on draft sites.

I don't see a big man coming in right away and contributing, like KAT or Davis. I see a bunch of good guards/forwards, but nothing earth-shattering/crazy. Fultz, Ball, J Jackson, Monk, and Tatum look good. I could see Danny being interested in all of them.

When you watch these guys, do you see instant All Stars? I see guys that might be All Stars in 2021 or later.

[libermaniac]

With the Nets tied for the worst record, and the depth of this draft, it looks like things will shape up very interestingly.  The only player who "might" fill a need is Jonathan Isaac, but he's probably where the drop-off begins and hopefully is the worst-case scenario for the C's in terms of talent (#6 pick or so).  So, it's pretty clear that the C's would need to pull off a trade, or they'll end up in a "rich man's" Sixers situation - where we have too many guards or SFs, thereby diminishing their trade value.

If they go PG, I think Ball, Fultz or Smith would be a definite upgrade over Marcus Smart - and longer term over Avery Bradley, and if they go SF, Josh Jackson would probably be a toss-up with Jaylen Brown.  But, if they were to just draft one of those PGs or Josh Jackson, without a trade, there would be too much of a glut of talent and no upgrade in the front court.  It's too bad Giles looks like too much of an injury risk - he'd be the perfect fit otherwise.

Danny will have his work cut out from him - but you can never complain about getting in a draft position to take a special talent - which looks pretty likely this year.

[GreenShooter]

Other than Giles there might not be anyone with size who will be in the top 5. The only other players that may be in there are Isaac and Tatum, both small forwards but have size for their position. Other than that it's BPA at the guard position. This is where DA has a dilemma; draft BPA (probably have to trade one of our guards/small forwards), trade down or trade out.
I'm sure when the draft lottery is over there will be a poll so I'm looking forward to seeing what option the posters here prefer. Who knows, the pick may be traded by then.

[clevelandceltic]

I dont see any reason why you wouldnt take a SF the caliber of Tatum or Jackson. I dont see a glut at all. I see a team that has a bunch of small guards and Smart playing the 3 at times. Tatum can easily play the same role as Jerebko plus I dont see Crowder being a starter next to Bradley long term anyways. They are too limited as a pair.

This team needs to be much more dynamic on the wing so I dont hesitate to take a wing at all.

[libermaniac]

I dont see any reason why you wouldnt take a SF the caliber of Tatum or Jackson. I dont see a glut at all. I see a team that has a bunch of small guards and Smart playing the 3 at times. Tatum can easily play the same role as Jerebko plus I dont see Crowder being a starter next to Bradley long term anyways. They are too limited as a pair.

This team needs to be much more dynamic on the wing so I dont hesitate to take a wing at all.

Seems like you are forgetting about Jaylen Brown. A SF who can't play the 4 doesn't add much positional value.

[cltc5]

Wow, no "Who cares, Danny's just gonna screw up as always" comments yet?  Color me surprised

He will screw it up like always.  Probably get a pg with the 10th pick

[chilidawg]

I dont see any reason why you wouldnt take a SF the caliber of Tatum or Jackson. I dont see a glut at all. I see a team that has a bunch of small guards and Smart playing the 3 at times. Tatum can easily play the same role as Jerebko plus I dont see Crowder being a starter next to Bradley long term anyways. They are too limited as a pair.

This team needs to be much more dynamic on the wing so I dont hesitate to take a wing at all.

Seems like you are forgetting about Jaylen Brown. A SF who can't play the 4 doesn't add much positional value.

No reason you couldn't play Crowder, Brown and Jackson/Tatum together at the 2/3/4
Could be a.killer defensive unit that could switch everything.

[libermaniac]

I dont see any reason why you wouldnt take a SF the caliber of Tatum or Jackson. I dont see a glut at all. I see a team that has a bunch of small guards and Smart playing the 3 at times. Tatum can easily play the same role as Jerebko plus I dont see Crowder being a starter next to Bradley long term anyways. They are too limited as a pair.

This team needs to be much more dynamic on the wing so I dont hesitate to take a wing at all.

Seems like you are forgetting about Jaylen Brown. A SF who can't play the 4 doesn't add much positional value.

No reason you couldn't play Crowder, Brown and Jackson/Tatum together at the 2/3/4
Could be a.killer defensive unit that could switch everything.

True, but then what about Bradley, Smart, Rozier, etc?  That was my point about a glut.  That's too many players to keep happy.

[chilidawg]

I dont see any reason why you wouldnt take a SF the caliber of Tatum or Jackson. I dont see a glut at all. I see a team that has a bunch of small guards and Smart playing the 3 at times. Tatum can easily play the same role as Jerebko plus I dont see Crowder being a starter next to Bradley long term anyways. They are too limited as a pair.

This team needs to be much more dynamic on the wing so I dont hesitate to take a wing at all.

Seems like you are forgetting about Jaylen Brown. A SF who can't play the 4 doesn't add much positional value.

No reason you couldn't play Crowder, Brown and Jackson/Tatum together at the 2/3/4
Could be a.killer defensive unit that could switch everything.

True, but then what about Bradley, Smart, Rozier, etc?  That was my point about a glut.  That's too many players to keep happy.

A 9-10 man rotation of Horford, KO, (Johnson replacement), Brown, Crowder, Jackson/Tatum, Smart, Bradley, Rozier, Thomas sounds great to me.  Nader, Zizic, Yabu, Jackson as deep bench development team.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get Giles if he's healthy, or maybe another big will emerge as a top draft candidate.  But I certainly think a scoring wing like Tatum would be a good fit.